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My buddy's birthday is coming up and his wife is going to ask him what he wants for a present. He's going to say "a Porsche." When she gets done screaming or laughing, depending on her mood, then he's going to say "an AR-15."

So he asked me what brands would make a reasonable off-the-shelf buy. I am an AK guy, so not the best source for AR recommendations. I know I have read similar threads, but the search function on this forum is not helping me (it ignores small words like "AR" and "15", even if you put "AR-15" in quotes. grrrrr.) I know I saw a similar thread around here recently, but dang if I can find it.

He's not going to want to build his own, or tinker with it, it pretty much needs to shoot reliably right out of the box for a reasonable amount of money. Not the cheapest AR, but not the most expensive. Basic urban defense arm, not a 800 yard sniper rifle. I will recommend a flat top rail with iron sights, he can get an optic later.

What say you? List brands/models or previous threads that I can't seem to find on my own. There's a Colt LE model that seems to be "the standard", what else?

Thanks!

So many choices out there....

Off the shelf, personally I'd pick Colt LE6940.
I had mine for awhile now, no issues and superb quality, right off the shelf...

Or Daniel Defense, I like the DDM4V11 model.

Been happy with my S&W. Something like this should be a little cheaper than the Colt. Never owned a Colt rifle so can't compare the two for quality.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/ ... rrorView_Y

What is a reasonable amount of money?

I bought the Spikes Tactical ST 15 16" M4 LE Carbine w/7"S.A.R. for right at $1,200.00

I haven't had any issues with it what so ever. It's seen about 6,000 rounds through it and will eat any kind of ammo you feed it. And yes, that includes all the steel stuff as well... should you be a steel case shooter. I know that's kind of taboo for some. But I wanted to know if mine would fire no matter what I loaded it up with.

Happy hunting

parabelum wrote:So many choices out there....

Off the shelf, personally I'd pick Colt LE6940.
I had mine for awhile now, no issues and superb quality, right off the shelf...

Or Daniel Defense, I like the DDM4V11 model.

Those are my suggestions as well. BUT - build yer own is way more fun and you get what you want. I mean, "not going to tinker with it" - why that is just plain ludicrous...!!

parabelum wrote:So many choices out there....

Off the shelf, personally I'd pick Colt LE6940.
I had mine for awhile now, no issues and superb quality, right off the shelf...

Or Daniel Defense, I like the DDM4V11 model.

Jago668 wrote:Been happy with my S&W. Something like this should be a little cheaper than the Colt. Never owned a Colt rifle so can't compare the two for quality.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/ ... rrorView_Y

Ryan wrote:What is a reasonable amount of money?

I bought the Spikes Tactical ST 15 16" M4 LE Carbine w/7"S.A.R. for right at $1,200.00

I haven't had any issues with it what so ever. It's seen about 6,000 rounds through it and will eat any kind of ammo you feed it. And yes, that includes all the steel stuff as well... should you be a steel case shooter. I know that's kind of taboo for some. But I wanted to know if mine would fire no matter what I loaded it up with.

Happy hunting

Colt, Daniel Defense, Spikes, and S&W are all good choices. I have an AR lower and two uppers based on Spikes Gen II Billet receivers. Very nice, but very expensive (MSRP on the lower alone is $450 by itself.) If it is a bargain you want, go for the S&W, which will be a little bit cheaper than either the Colt or the DD. I would urge you to make sure the upper receiver has a forward assist and a dust cover. People poopoo the need for these, but I have actually used a forward assist a few times, and a dust cover will help ensure that the receiver internals remain clean when not in use. Probably the Colt and DD come with these, but some of the more inexpensive S&W models do not.

Get a basic M4 configuration. You want a barrel of either 1:9, 1:8, or 1:7 twist. Either is fine, but a 1:9 will do a better job of stabilizing bullets in the light to medium weight range, the 1:7 is better for the medium to heavy bullet weight range, and a 1:8 is a happy medium which handles all weights pretty well.

If the gun does not come with rail-mounted iron sights, then make sure it at least has an A2 front sight post on the gas block. Guns with the MOE furniture are going to be cheaper, but guns with a rail system are going to be more easily configurable. But if it has a rail, make sure that it free-floats the barrel - which is desirable from an accuracy perspective.

If it comes with a carry handle with integral rear sight, make sure that the carry handle is removable so that you have a flat top upper remaining for mounting optics on. (Mounting optics onto carry handles is a sure fire way to develop bad technique with optics for reasons of scope height over bore height.)

Also, don't be afraid to look at DPMS rifles. They will generally run a little less than the above brands, but for the casual user, they are every bit as good. And, the beauty of the platform is that you can gradually upgrade an AR until it no longer has any relationship with its original manufacturer other than the logo on the lower receiver.

Daniel Defense
BCM
Colt LE 6920

Palmetto State Armory
Smith & Wesson M&P15T

I bought my three AR's just before the current POTUS was sworn in in 2008. I was part of the buying frenzy and I bought what was available. I got an Armalite, a DPMS, and a Bushmaster. All 3 can out shoot me and they all have gone bang every time I pulled the trigger. I have a slide-fire stock on the Bushmaster and it spits out rounds faster than I can afford them. (and no failures) I have shot the S&W and the Colt and I could not really tell much difference between all the rifles. I would get one now because I feel the price will be going up prior to the Presidential election. You might stock up on ammo too. I think I have mentioned before that I lost all three of them in that boating accident out in the Gulf of Mexico.

Thanks everyone, that's what I needed.

I just bought an Barrett REC7 in 6.8 scp11 and love it but she might not want to pay that price .Other than that i would stick to something simple like bushmaster or DPMS they are good and run very well but if she wants to make him really happy get a barrett or LWRC and cant forget Larue .

Colt LE 6920 which I bought at WalMart when they still sold them. Never done anything to it and it always works. Came with the carry handle.

rotor wrote:Colt LE 6920 which I bought at WalMart when they still sold them. Never done anything to it and it always works. Came with the carry handle.

I agree as I have one as well. Hard to beat the price and it's a Colt.

One note about PSA-built guns........

My son worked as a gunsmith in a well-established shop, under the supervision of a very well known gunsmith/custom rifle builder. They had a PSA rifle brought in to them to have a barrel swapped out. The owner delivered it to the shop in the condition he had received it, having done no work on it himself. The barrel nut had been so over-torqued by PSA that no safe amount of counter-torque force would loosen it. They notified the owner, and he said to go ahead and put as much torque on it as needed to release the barrel nut. They went ahead with the job, and it was so over-torqued that it actually tore the upper receiver apart when they tried to loosen the nut.........like literally tore the receiver almost in half.

PSA's guns are very affordable, and lots of people have bought them and experienced zero problems. My son has purchased some of their stuff himself and never had a problem with it, but that was before the above mentioned experience. Never again since. I suspect that PSA keeps the pricing down by either not paying the people who assemble their guns a very good wage, or by automating the build process to the point where QC takes a back seat to fast and dirty assembly......and so sometimes, you're going to get what you pay for.

I don't even check their website anymore after having heard about the experience directly from my son, who witnessed it.